J's Big Day

Last week J turned the big Three Oh and since we both love a celebration I took it upon myself to organise a little soiree to mark the occasion. It’s been a while since we’ve been out on the harbour. I have always thought that Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, especially from the water.

I hired a Yacht and invited 20 of our closest friends and we were all set for an amazing day on the harbour. The weather gods were good to us because we had the most glorious day. If anything, we were worried that it might be too hot but then there were a number of bottles of champagne on ice to cater for such a disaster.

S and I made a visit to the fish market in the morning to get some lunch organised for everyone. We opted for some lovely cooked tiger prawns (2kg!!!), oysters, octopus, whitebait.


Lots and lots of the freshest sashimi and some smoked salmon for some little rolls that S made up at home before heading to the boat.


She spread some cream cheese, chopped chives and smoked salmon on brown loaf bread (with the crusts cut off). She then rolled the bread up tight and wrapped it in cling film and stored it in the freezer for a while. Just before the rolls were served she sliced them. I brought a plate of these around and the guests ended up fighting over them. They were lovely.


At the fish market you can now pick up some ready made Oyster Kilpatrick. These were great and only needed a few seconds in the microwave in the galley before serving. I even found one in the shape of a heart for the Birthday boy.

We were lucky that some of our friends brought along food too. Our friend 'Me J' brought her delicious damper dip. A damper loaf with the top and inside removed and filled with the most addictive dip. I’ll have to get the recipe and post it here because it’s delicious and apparently is very easy to put together. I’ve had the pleasure of tasting this before at a party. Unfortunately at the party I was unable to mingle because I was glued to the table where the dip was – addictive I tell ya.


E volunteered to bring the Birthday cake (pictured at the top). On the day I got a message to say they were running late because they had to pick up the Ice cream cake. 35 degree heat and she is bringing an ice cream cake on a boat! Is she mad? Well, apparently not because the cake was absolutely fantastic. She picked it up from a patisserie called Red Mango in the Greenwood Plaza in North Sydney. They gave it to her in a special container that kept it frozen for 3 hours. Perfect. It was still solid when we stopped for food over near Taronga Zoo. Everyone tucked into the fish, fruit and nibbles and we finished off with this delicious strawberry ice cream cake. I’ll definitely be getting this again for any event that requires a cake. I wonder if they deliver.


We had a fabulous day and the boys even stripped down to their boxer shorts for a dip in the water. I was wearing my fancy party dress and decided not to get in but to be honest I might as well have cos as I was dipping a toe in the water our friend G did a dive bomb and covered me in a mini tsunami. Lucky for me synthetic fabric dries in no time in the sun.

Right so, who’s birthday is next? I need another party to organise or at least to go to.